Stagnant. Boring. Aimless. Tired. Tepid. What do these words describe? You? Your minister? Your church? Your Sunday school class? Your career? All too often, I hear ministers and parishioners alike using such words to describe all of the above. Far…
OUT LOUD
“Testimony envy may be part of any community, but we evangelicals seem to have a particular bent toward narrative one-upmanship.” Editorial in Christianity Today The magazine was writing after Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary President Ergun Caner lost his post when…
High school students worship, give during YEC in Christiansburg
CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. — On April 23, 280 students and adults representing over 22 churches attended the Christiansburg Youth Encounter at Christiansburg High School. The praise band from Virginia Tech’s Baptist collegiate ministry led students in worship, Bluefield College representatives rallied…
Youth Ministry Forum attracts record attendance
RICHMOND, Va. — The annual two-day training for Virginia Baptist youth ministers, summer youth workers, youth ministry interns and volunteer youth leaders drew a record 105 participants and faculty to the Virginia Baptist Resource Center in Richmond in May. “Our…
Lakewood announces scholarship recipients
RICHMOND, Va. — Katherine B. Buzzelli of Godwin High School in Richmond and Alyssa Miller of James Madison University in Harrisonburg are the recipients of the 2010 Lakewood Manor Employee Scholarships. Each year, Lakewood Manor, one of Virginia Baptist Homes’…
Bluefield students serve on mission in South America
BLUEFIELD, Va. — Bluefield College students recently completed a spring mission trip to Peru as part of Virginia Baptists’ greater effort to share the gospel and to build churches in South America. Bluefield students in a town square with Peruvian…
Baptist students at William & Mary use creative means to reach out
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — During last spring’s semester, students in the Baptist collegiate ministries at the College of William & Mary decided to creatively take the spiritual pulse of the campus. They led several campus ministries in an outreach emphasis known…
Religious Herald postal address changes
The Religious Herald’s post office box has been closed and all mail is being delivered to its physical address at 2828 Emerywood Parkway, Richmond, VA 23294. Note that only first-class mail will be forwarded to the current address. For assistance…
Liberty and Justice: Church-state lines can blur when disasters strike
RICHMOND, Va. (ABP) — Responding to disasters with immediate and long-term assistance has become a well-established practice of American religious groups — including Baptists, who frequently are almost as visible following devastating earthquakes and hurricanes as the Federal Emergency Management…
Liberty and Justice: What is the future of U.S. religious liberty?
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Since colonial days, each new generation of Americans has had to face new challenges to religious freedom. From dissenters like Roger Williams fighting established state churches to perceived threats to the Protestant establishment posed by Catholic immigration…
Liberty and Justice: Churches, ministries and employment law
WASHINGTON (ABP) — One characteristic of the robust religious freedom Americans enjoy is that the government doesn’t control the church nor the church the government. But that doesn’t mean churches are lawless zones. While houses of worship and other nonprofit…
Liberty and Justice: When church-state separation and social justice conflict
DALLAS (ABP) — Religious liberty is a Baptist birthright, and one of the tradition’s most distinctive principles. But challenges to maintaining religious liberty come from all directions — including the dilemma of whether Baptist social-service agencies should accept government funds…